


safe in my heart

by schuylerhamilton



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hollywood, F/M, Singin in the Rain AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-04 18:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15152690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schuylerhamilton/pseuds/schuylerhamilton
Summary: Monumental Pictures doesn’t need a miracle, just a very good singer.Scott Moir knows where to find one.(A Singin’ in the Rain AU.)





	1. you stepped out (of a dream)

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god, i don’t even know how this happened, but suddenly i was sitting at my computer and churning out almost 5k words about ice dancers that’s based on a popular hollywood movie that i have grown to love. help me.
> 
> recently, i worked backstage at a local production of singin in the rain for almost a month, and one day i noticed that, hey, the guy playing don lockwood kind of looks like scott... and one thing lead to another and well, here we are.
> 
> i’ve outlined this pretty thoroughly and planned five chapters, but who knows, it could be more now that i’ve managed to write almost 5k words for just ONE chapter. updates might take a while since i’m getting a little busy and i just got a new job.
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoy the first chapter! feedback is greatly appreciated!
> 
> (also, i love kaitlyn weaver and don’t want to disrespect her and her wonderful talking voice, but she was the first blonde that popped into my mind so for the sake of this au, kaitlyn has a horrible voice. oops.)

It’s 1927, the age of silent film, and Scott Moir is a star. He has fan magazines written all about him, and he can barely take a walk without being ambushed by his fangirls. Everyone’s seen his movies, and they’re obsessed with his and his co-star’s, Kaitlyn Weaver, relationship. They’re the biggest ‘are they or aren’t they’ couple of the year, and Scott can say, without a doubt, that they aren’t. Kaitlyn might say the opposite, but Scott has insisted, multiple times, that there’s nothing between them.

He just hopes he doesn’t have to repeat it to her again tonight, at the premiere of their latest film, _The Royal Rascal_. The red carpet stretches out before them, and Scott can see Tanith White, the ever-enthusiastic reporter, talking into her silver microphone. A crowd of excited fangirls stand behind her, anxiously waiting for him and Kaitlyn to arrive. He spots Patrice Lauzon, head of Monumental Pictures, and Patrick Chan, his best friend and piano player on set, taking to Tanith. The rest of the cast and crew are making their way into Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Scott wants to look for more people, but Kaitlyn is suddenly pulling him ahead, toward Tanith and the fans and that big silver microphone. So he does what he does best. Scott smiles, waves, and confidently strolls over to Tanith, Patch and Patrick, with Kaitlyn holding on to his arm.

“Scott! Scott!” Tanith yells, pushing Patch away from her and tugging Scott and Kaitlyn towards the microphone. “Scott, fans everywhere are just dying to know if wedding bells are soon to ring for you and Kaitlyn! You can tell me confidently if there’s any truth to these rumors about the famous Moir and Weaver. Will congratulations be in order for the two of you?” She asks, and out of the corner of his eye Scott sees the devoted fangirls cling to one another in anticipation for a big reveal.

“Kaitlyn and I don’t have any statements to make at this time, we’re just good friends.” Scott says seriously, trying to ignore the fangirls (and Kaitlyn) sighing in disappointment.

“Oh, well, I bet Patrick will play the wedding march for the two of you eventually,” Tanith says, and Patrick, standing next to her, pretends to play a piano with his fingers.

“Patrick, will you play the wedding march?” Scott jokes, smiling, and he can hear the fangirls squeal behind him. Patrick just chuckles and walks away, farther down the red carpet.

“Everyone just loves your friendship with Patrick Chan!” Tanith gushes, and the fangirls nod is agreement. “Care to tell us how it began?” She asks, shoving the microphone in Scott’s face, and he freezes.

“Here? In front of all these people?” Scott asks, hesitant to share the story in such a huge, public place.

“Yes!” Tanith says, pointing to the microphone. “Please.” She adds, moving over a bit and handing him the microphone.

“Ok.” He hesitates for a moment, before flashing a huge smile at Kaitlyn, his fans, and the press, who are taking so many photos that Scott thinks he’ll be seeing the white outline of camera flashes in his vision for the rest of his life. “I have a motto that some of you might know,” He begins. “Dignity. Always dignity. When I was a kid, my father sent me to the best dancing school. There, I met my best friend, Patrick Chan. We practiced and performed for mom and dad’s society friends, and when we got older, we performed in some bigger venues too. A few years later, Patrick and I decided to embark on a dance concert tour of sorts. We played and danced in the greatest symphonic halls in the country.”

Scott recounts a moment on tour where he and Patrick performed and expected a standing ovation, because they had both just sang and danced while playing a fiddle. To their surprise, the pair were booed out of the hall. It was then that Scott made the decision to go into acting and Patrick decided to play the piano.

Tanith listens to Scott speak until it was time for the showing of _The Royal Rascal_ , what everyone was here for in the first place.

The music starts, the lights dim, and the film begins. It’s similar to other Moir and Weaver movies, the classic damsel in distress situation. Scott and Kaitlyn’s characters profess their love for each other, not knowing that their enemy is nearby, reading to ambush them with his gang. The enemy attacks, and he and Scott fight while Kaitlyn is held captive. Scott punches the enemy and bravely saves Kaitlyn from her captors. They embrace and the movie ends.

The audience loves it. They cheer and clap as the film ends, and Scott and Kaitlyn come onstage to give their speeches. Which is kind of a problem, at least for Kaitlyn.

Scott and Kaitlyn may look like perfect celebrities from the outside, but people close to them know they’re not perfect at all. Scott doesn’t like Kaitlyn, yet everyone assumes and hopes they’re together. And because they’re silent film stars, no one has ever heard Kaitlyn speak. Scott is the more media-trained one of the two, and he handles everything that’s speaking related, because Kaitlyn has a _horrible_ voice. It’s scratchy and squeaky and sounds nothing like the beautiful voices of other celebrities. Almost no one knows about it, except for Scott, Patch, Patrick and just a few other people who work at Monumental Pictures.

So when it’s time for them to give their speeches, Scott panics at bit. If people found out about Kaitlyn’s terrible voice at a premiere of a movie she’s in, that would be the end of Moir and Weaver. Their careers would be ended just like that.

Looking out at the theatre full of people, Scott knows he needs to make a decision and fast. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kaitlyn moving toward the silver microphone, but before she can speak, Scott grabs it.

“We’d like to thank you for coming to see the premiere of The Royal Rascal, it really means a lot to us!” He says quickly, making sure not to look at Kaitlyn, who is very confused. “We don’t have time for speeches tonight, and we silent film actors aren’t very good at public speaking anyway, so we’ll just… act out our support!” Scott elbows his costar and the two of them bow and curtsy, smiling a few times before running off stage.

“What was that about?” Kaitlyn demands, her screechy voice echoing backstage.

“N-nothing, it’s just-“ Scott stutters a bit, but gets cut off when Patch appears behind him and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“He just has a bit more media training than you do, Kaitlyn, that’s all.” Patch reassures her.

“Media training, sure.” Patrick mumbles. “I think it probably has to do with diction.” He laughs a bit, but instantly quiets down when Kaitlyn gives him a threatening look.

“Anyway,” Patch says, shooting a look at Patrick. “There’s a party tonight, at my house. I hope the three of you will come.”

“We’ll definitely be there.” Scott smiles at the older man. “But, uh, Kaitlyn, it might be better if we take separate cars.” He says, looking at the blonde.

“What?” She ask, eyebrows furrowing. “Why? We were supposed to arrive together, you know. Like we always do. Like a _couple_.” Kaitlyn stares at him, giving Scott her most innocent look, and Scott almost wants to roll his eyes.

“Kaitlyn, there’s nothing between us.” He reminds her. “Just air.” Scott gestures between them and Kaitlyn blinks. Behind Scott, Patrick tries to stifle his laughter.

“Well, fine.” She huffs. “I’ll go.”

Once she leaves, with Patch close behind, Scott turns to Patrick and takes off his long white coat. “Here, take this, I need some air. Just put it on and get in the car, pretend to be me. I don’t want this to turn out like… like last time.” He emphasizes, remembering his last movie premiere. Scott had walked outside to his car, and was suddenly mobbed by his fans. He’d yelled at Patrick to call him a cab, and Patrick, clearly amused by his friend getting surrounded by a sea of screaming teenaged girls, had said, “Ok. You’re a cab.”

Scott really hasn’t forgiven him for that.

Patrick gives him a confused look. “Ok? Let’s hope this coat fits me, Moir, or you’ll need to tell your fans why you suddenly shrunk a few inches.” He jokes, and takes the coat and puts it on. “Finally, I can be famous!”

“Thanks Patrick. I’ll see you at the Patch’s house for the party.” Scott waves to his friend as he walks away. Quickly, he heads to an exit in the back part of the theatre, careful not to be seen. Scott loves and appreciate his fans, he really does, but sometimes he could do without their screaming and excitement every time he so much as breathes in their direction, or even just takes a walk. Even though it’s unlikely, Scott hopes he can have a quiet, uneventful walk.

Hollywood Boulevard is still busy at this time of night, and Scott hopes he won’t get spotted by any of his fans. He walks faster, putting his head down and hopes he won’t drag too much attention to himself, since he’s the only person in sight who’s wearing a full suit. Then he hears a gasp and the sound of a few teen girls giggling and whispering behind him.

“Is it him?”

“It has to be. Who else would be walking down Hollywood Boulevard at almost 11pm wearing a suit that fancy?!”

“You’re right.” A pause. “I’m going to ask him.”

A few seconds later, Scott feels a tap on his shoulder and he turns around. A teenaged girl, no older than seventeen, stands in front of him, a huge grin on her face.

“Excuse me, are you Scott Moir?” She asks excitedly, waving her two friends over, both of whom have the same giddy smile on their faces.

“I… am not.” He says, and the girls’ faces fall. Scott scans the area for something, anything, he could use as a way to get out of this situation. He spots a young woman sitting on a green bench a few feet away from him, and he casually begins walking in that direction. “No, I’m just your average pedestrian enjoying a night out with my girlfriend.” He says, sitting down and putting an arm around the woman.

“What are you doing?!” She hisses, trying to scoot away from him. Scott just gently tightens his grip around her. “I’ll call the police!” She threatens.

“No! Just wait a second,” He whispers to the woman, and returns his focus to the three teen girls standing in front of him. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not him. I love his movies, though!” Scott tells the girls and they walk away, clearly disappointed.

“Please get your hands _off me_.” The woman next to him growls, and Scott turns and looks at her. Actually looks at her, since he didn’t even see her face when he sat down. She’s beautiful. She’s wearing a hat, but her brown hair, slightly curly, is still visible underneath it. Her eyes are striking, a gorgeous green color, and Scott feels like he could get lost in them if he looks for too long. She’s wearing a red and blue dress, with a beige-colored coat over it.

“Sorry,” He says quickly, scooting away from her. “I wasn’t trying to harm you.”

“Well, you have harmed me.” She snaps, getting up from the bench and waving at a police officer who’s walking down the street. “Officer! Officer, this man sat down next to me and-”

Scott shoots up from his seat on the bench and tries to walk away, not wanting to get spotted by a police officer.

“Ma’am, are you oka-“ The police officer asks, before gasping and running towards Scott. “It’s Scott Moir!” He yells, turning to the woman. “Gosh, you sure are a lucky lady!” He turns back to Scott. “Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Moir?” Scott shakes his head. “And you, ma’am?” He asks the woman, who shrugs.

“Well, no.” She says, shaking her head.

The officer is still clearly enthralled to be in such a famous person’s presence, and Scott mimes locking his mouth shut and throwing away the key, politely asking him not to tell anyone about his encounter. The officer nods and Scott smiles politely, waving to him as he begins to walk away.

“Sorry about that,” He says. “I can’t seem to take a walk without being spotted by my fans. It’s not the best thing, but it’s a small price to pay for being famous. We actors get all the fame and glory, but sometimes we have to take the little tragedies that go alone with it.”

“That’s terrible. Not even being able to take a walk, how sad.” The woman pauses. “So… you really are Scott Moir?” She asks Scott as he sits back down on the bench.

“The one and only.” He grins. “You’ve seen my movies?”

“I’ve seen one.” She says. “You know what they say, ‘If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.’”

Only one? She’d only seen one of his movies?! Scott couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to brag, but a lot of people watched his movies or at least knew of them. Also, movies were different. A person couldn’t judge every movie if they’d only seen one.

“Really? Which one was it?” Scott asks.

The woman thought for a moment before responding. “Um, there was a…. gun? No, a sword, and there was fighting, and there was a woman-“

“Kaitlyn Weaver.” Scott supplies.

“Yes! Her. And you fought and… yeah, that’s about it. I don’t care for movies much, anyway. It’s all a bunch of dumb show. Like this.” She sighs dramatically, leans back, and places the back of her hand on her forehead. “There’s nothing to it, you’re practically just a shadow on the screen.”

Scott crossed his arms and thought about her words. “Oh really? What makes you think you can insult my humble profession, Miss…?”

“Virtue. Tessa Virtue.” She introduced herself, sitting up a little straighter. “And I’m an actress.”

If Scott was drinking water right now, he’d surely have spit it out, all over her pretty dress. “You? An actress?” He splutters, jaw almost dropping in shock.

“On the stage.” She explains, like he was stupid. “Well, not right now. But someday, I’ll be in New York and-“

“Oh, New York!” Scott interrupts. “And we’ll all hear of you, won’t we? ‘Tessa Virtue as Lady Macbeth! As Juliet! As King Leo!’” He laughs. “You’d have to wear a beard for that one, though.”

Tessa frowns. “You can laugh all you want, but my dream is no different from what yours once was, I bet. You weren’t just born an actor. You had to work for it.” She says, flinching when Scott grabs her wrist. “Don’t touch me.”

“Oh come on, you know I won’t harm you. After all, I’m practically a shadow, and you might as well just be a figment of my imagination.” Scott flashes a dazzling smile at her.

“Well, I’m sorry for not recognizing you in the first place.” Tessa confesses. “I think I need to get my eyes checked.”

“No, your eyes are perfect.” Scott says quickly, and Tessa turns her head to look at him. “I- I mean…. Your eyes are nice and um, you’re wonderful.”

“Oh… kay.” Tessa looks at him weirdly. “Thank you?”

“Honestly, you’re wonderful. Too wonderful, that’s why I thought you could just be a… a dream.” Scott stutters. Why was he acting like this? He could withstand the media and his fans but suddenly he meets this woman and he turns into a blubbering idiot. Great job, Moir. He thinks. She really thinks you’re a creep now.

“No, I’m definitely real.” She smiles and laughs, and Scott does too.

I wish I could have her all to myself. He thinks suddenly, but realizes that he probably can’t, because Tessa was… Tessa. She was amazingly strong, smart, and, like he told her, wonderful. There was no way she was single. Being a celebrity, it would be strange for him to even consider dating a person who was relatively unknown, even if Tessa did say she wanted to be an actress.

A shout dragged him out of his thoughts, and Tessa jumps at the sound.

“Hey! Is that Scott Moir?” A group of his utterly devoted fangirls were running right at him, looking absolutely ecstatic at the opportunity to see the man they were such big fans of in person.

“Girls, girls!” Scott says as they surround him. He moves away from the bench. “Please, don’t…” He looks around for Tessa, but she must have run off during the commotion.

Scott manages to distance himself from the fangirls and finally make his way towards Patch’s house for the after party. He’d have to explain to Kaitlyn why he’s late, and she won’t be happy. Patrick and Patch will probably be disappointed too, but Scott doesn’t care. It’s just another party. He’s been to hundreds of them since his career started, what’s so different about this one? Nothing will happen anyway, he tells himself.

The party is in full swing by the time Scott arrives at Patch’s house. His wife, Marie-France, answers the door and invites him in. “Scott! You’re finally here!” She welcomes him. “And just in time for tonight’s surprises!”

The house is huge, of course. Because of his job as head of Monumental Pictures, Patch and his wife live in one of Hollywood’s wealthiest neighborhoods. The house is full of guests, and Scott spots Patrick in a corner. Kaitlyn is sitting on the top of a piano, drinking champagne and talking to the pianist while he plays. There’s a curtain hanging in front of a wall, and Scott guesses that it’s hiding one of tonight’s so-called surprises.

Still thinking about Tessa’s comments about his movies, Scott makes his way over to Patrick, and asks, “Hey, am I a good actor?”

His friend nods. “Of course you are!” Patrick says, smiling.

“Am I really? Or are you just saying that because you’re my friend?”

“No!” Patrick shakes his head. “You’re Scott Moir! Of course you’re a good actor.”

“Ok, just… remind me of that from time to time.” Scott says, and Patrick nods.

“Attention, everyone!” Patch announces, clinking a spoon against his glass of champagne and silencing the room. “We have some things to share with all of you tonight. The first is truly remarkable.” He pauses, and the curtain lifts to reveal a small silver screen. A man steps forward, wheeling a small projector into the room. “This picture is new, and very interesting. I’ll let you see why.” Patch finishes, and the lights in the room turn off.

The film starts, and a man is seated at a desk, a piece of paper in hand. There’s no music, and Scott expects to see the man’s lips move and the words come up on screen, but that doesn’t happen. The man starts talking, and Scott can hear him. It’s like the man is right there in the room with everybody.

“This is a talking picture,” The man explains. “There is no music, and no words appear on screen. The sound of my voice can be heard, and in perfect synchronization with my lips, too.” He pauses and smiles excitedly. He waves his sheet of paper. “The sound of this paper can be heard as well. I am speaking the words that are on this paper, and I am talking. Because my voice can be heard, this is a talking picture.” He finishes. The screen goes black and the curtain comes down.

Scott is impressed. But since silent pictures are still all the rage, he doubts this new ‘talking picture’ will impact his (or Kaitlyn’s) career. This seems like it would take lots of time and money to make, more than most film companies could have.

“That was the talking picture,” Patch announces, and the room erupts.

“It’s a scam! Somebody was behind that curtain!” Somebody shouts, and another person joins in.

“Yeah! This will never work, what a load of crap!”

Patch shakes his head. “No, it is not a scam. Nobody was behind that curtain.” He moves the curtain back, and sure enough, only the small silver screen can be seen. There’s nobody behind it.

“Warner Brothers has already produced a talking picture, called _The Jazz Singer_ ,” Patch says. “It’s rumored to become a huge hit, the biggest picture of 1927. If it is, other companies will need to start producing ‘talkies’ to rival Warner Brothers. We here at Monumental Pictures need to do the same thing. It’s too risky to continue making silent films when all people will be talking about is the talkies.”

The crowd murmurs in agreement, and Scott nods his head.

“But enough about that.” Patch claps his hands together. “Let’s move on to other things, and other delicious surprises. Scott and Kaitlyn, this one’s for you.” He points at them, and a large cake is wheeled into the room.

The audience oooos and ahhhhs at the beautiful cake, but before anyone can grab a knife and cut it, the cake explodes.

Well, it doesn’t really explode, because the cake was never a real cake to begin with. Scott can see that it’s made of cardboard and plastic, and there’s…. someone inside it? He looks up and gasps.

It’s Tessa.

She’s wearing a pink dress with a small matching hat, and as she steps out of the cake, she sees him.

“Well, if it isn’t Ethel Barrymore!” Scott jokes, and Tessa frowns. “I’m kidding, don’t worry.” He says, and Tessa continues to stare at him. “I was going to ask you, a dignified actress on the stage, if I’m a good enough actor now that I’ve memorized a few lines. I can recite parts of Romeo and Juliet, and I could show you in a moment if-“

Tessa interrupts him, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Moir, but I can’t talk right now.” She says, pushing past him. Scott notices a group of girls, wearing the same outfit that Tessa is, run past him. Tessa and the girls move to the center of the room, and Scott realizes that they’re chorus girls.

Tessa’s a chorus girl?

The girls begin to sing and dance to a song, and Scott recognizes it as All I Do is Dream of You.

“All I do is dream of you the whole night through,” The girls sing. “With the dawn, I still go on and dream of you. You’re every thought, you’re everything, you’re every song I ever sing; summer, winter, autumn, and spring!”

The crowd begins to clap along to the music, and Scott spots Patch beginning to dance, clearly loving the entertainment.

“And were there more than twenty four hours a day,” The girls continue to sing, and Scott can only focus on Tessa. She’s the dancer nearest to him, and he has to move in order not to be run into by her.

“They’d be spent in sweet content dreaming away. When skies are gray, when skies are blue; morning, noon, and night time too. All I do the whole day through is dream of you!” The girls finish, striking a pose, and begin to exit. The crowd claps and cheers, and the girls wave and smile.

Scott manages to grab Tessa as she exits, and ignoring her protests, says, “Look, I want to introduce you to a….” He pauses, searching for the right word.”A friend of mine, Kaitlyn Weaver.”

He looks around the room for her, and sure enough, Kaitlyn is still sitting on the piano, which has been moved to make space for a few small (and thankfully real) cakes.

“Kaitlyn!” Scott says as he and Tessa approach. Kaitlyn smiles and carefully hops down from the piano, smiling at Scott and barely noticing Tessa. “Here’s a real actress, from the stage. This is Tessa Virtue,” He introduces her, and Tessa smiles. Kaitlyn just nods gently, clearly not wanting to socialize with an unknown chorus girl.

“I told her about my- our,” Scott corrects himself quickly. “Our movies, and Tessa here seems to have a few opinions about them.” He notices Kaitlyn’s disapproving look, and feels Tessa stiffen beside him. “That’s okay, though, she has much to learn from movies.” He laughs a little, and turns to Tessa.

“Here’s one thing I learned from the movies!” She tells him, and before Scott can intervene, a cake (a real one) is hurling towards his face. He quickly dodges it, moving out of the way just in time to see the dessert hit Kaitlyn square in the face, ruining her makeup and just missing her cream-colored dress. She shrieks, horrified, and Tessa gasps.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry-“ Tessa apologizes, but not before Kaitlyn can recover herself and make a mad dash at Tessa. Scott quickly pushes her away, panicking.

“No, Kaitlyn, she was aiming at me, I promise!” Scott says, trying to calm his co-star before she causes an even bigger scene. The party guests are standing still, mouths agape as they watch the scene unfold before them.

“I- I’ll kill her!” Kaitlyn growls, and Tessa takes off running, leaving the room and causing the guests to part as she escapes past them.

“Kaitlyn!” Scott hisses, grabbing her arm and turning to face her. “Remember the motto. Dignity, always dignity.” He repeats, staring at her.

“Dignity my ass!” Kaitlyn screeches, and the guests gasp. Scott’s mouth drops open in shock, and he sighs.

Kaitlyn storms off, thankfully in the other direction, cake still covering her face as she begins to mumble something about why she “doesn’t socialize with those girls.” The crowd moves for her as well, this time much quicker as they watch the angry blonde walk away, her high heels clicking on the wooden floor.

The silence in the room is suffocating, and Scott considers leaving too, but he remembers that he needs to show Tessa that he’s a real actor, not just a shadow on a screen.

The party starts to calm down, and people begin to thank Patch and his wife as they grab their items and coats and head out the door.

The crowd thins out until there’s only a few guests and Scott left. He looks around, trying to see if anyone he knows is still here, but almost everyone’s gone. The large plastic cake sits abandoned in a corner, and the small curtain used to reveal the film industry’s next big invention seems almost pathetic in the now empty room. The only signs of life are the faint sounds of cars outside and the muffled noises of guests thanking Patch and Marie France as they leave the house.

A man walks into the room, ready to clean the mess made by the guests and the remnants of a thrown cake.

“Hey, did you see that chorus girl leave? The one who jumped out of the cake?” Scott asks the man, desperate for an answer. Tessa didn’t just disappear. Someone had to have seen her leave.

“No, sorry, sir.” The man says, and shrugs as he gets ready to clean the room. “I don’t really know anyone here, I’m just here to clean.” He pauses and looks at Scott. “Hey, you’re Scott Moir, aren’t you? Congrats on your new movie, by the way. I heard it’s supposed to be a big hit.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Scott says. “Thanks anyway, I’m sure she’ll turn up somewhere.”

The cool night air welcomes Scott as he walks outside and into a waiting car. The lights of Hollywood can be seen in the distance, and Scott closes his eyes. He knows everyone will love his new movie, and of course, it’ll be a hit. Every Moir and Weaver film is.

Filming for their next project, a film called _The Dueling Cavalier_ , starts in a few weeks, and Scott doesn’t know what to think of it. If talking pictures really are a huge hit, what will he and Kaitlyn do? Their careers would be over. What if the Dueling Cavalier is a failure, thanks to the talking picture? Scott doesn’t doubt Patch’s thinking that _The Jazz Singer_ will be a blockbuster, and it’ll easily outdo silent films.

He has to find Tessa. If his career fails, he knows he could turn to her for advice. She’d help him become a real actor, and maybe he’d even make it to New York, something he knows Tessa dreams of doing.

Scott hopes it’s only a matter of time before they meet again.


	2. lucky star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work got so busy that I didn’t have a lot of time to write, I’m sorry! I don’t like this chapter very much, since I had to rework a bunch of things and rewrite my outline for this fic while I was writing it! But hopefully all of you will enjoy it! Kudos and comments make my day :)

The next few weeks pass uneventfully. _The Royal Rascal_ is a hit, just like everyone thought it would be, and now Scott and Kaitlyn are ready to start filming for _The Dueling Cavalier_. It’s similar to their other movies, and Scott isn’t looking forward to wearing another itchy late 18th century outfit. It’ll make him look like a founding father, with the coattails and the fluffy white wig.

In the meantime, Scott’s looked all over for Tessa, even going as far as to call a few acting agencies in New York to see if she’s there. They all said no, nobody with the name Tessa Virtue has worked with us. So Scott kept looking. The owner of the Coconut Grove, the chorus company she was working with, said nothing about Tessa’s disappearance. Scott still hasn’t seen her since the night of the party, when she threw the cake at Kaitlyn.

He wonders where she is. Tessa didn’t tell him anything about her family or where they lived. Scott didn’t know if Tessa had relatives here in Hollywood or if her family lived in another state. She hadn’t really told him anything about her the night they met on Hollywood Boulevard, she just stated her name and profession.

“I don’t know what to do! I’ve looked everywhere for her, where could she be?” Scott whines as Patrick absentmindedly plays a new tune on his piano.

“Come on, Scott! It’s been weeks and you’re still looking for her? Just give it up already.” Patrick rolls his eyes as he shuffles his sheet music.

“I can’t, Patrick. She’s on my conscience.” Scott says, sitting down in a chair. “Something happened that night, at the party, and I- I guess I just need to make it up to her somehow. God, I feel terrible! I practically got her fired!” He moans, covering his face with his hands.

“You don’t need to make it up to her at all! This is show business, Scott. You either eat or get eaten.” Patrick says, getting up from the piano. “You’re a wonderful actor, she just doesn’t know it. You don’t need to prove your talent to some unknown chorus girl. Who cares where she went, anyway?”

Scott just sighs.

Maybe finding Tessa is going to be a lot harder than Scott thinks it is. Besides, he has other things to do. The Dueling Cavalier starts filming today, and Scott really, really doesn’t want to spend more time with Kaitlyn. There’s a million other things he’d rather be doing right now, and filming is not one of them. He watches as workers move sets and props, and Patrick wheels his piano into the room. The director, JF Ménard, calls for Kaitlyn, who’s late. Scott’s not surprised; she never gets to the set on time. JF’s two assistants repeat his request, and the sound echoes across the set.

Kaitlyn bustles in, wearing the most ridiculous pink dress and a huge wig, and Scott has to muffle his laughter. She practically looks like a porcelain doll, with stiff limbs and a lot of makeup.

“I didn’t see you at that party last night, where were you?” Kaitlyn demands, sitting down on a bench.

“I was busy.” Scott replies, fixing his wig. It’s uncomfortable and he already hates it.

“Yeah, you were looking for that girl.” Kaitlyn mumbles, not looking at him.

“Actually, I was.” Scott says.

“Why?” She asks, getting up from the bench.

“Well, why do you think? I was worried about her!” Scott says loudly, and a crew member stops working and looks at him. “Sorry.”

“You should’ve been worried about me! I’m the one who got pie on her face.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t get fired, and she did.” Scott looks at her, and adjusts the sleeves of his coat. He’s ready to just walk away when Kaitlyn replies.

“Of course she did, I arranged it.”

“What?!” Scott’s shocked.

“They weren’t going to fire her, so I called the Coconut Grove and told them they better.” Kaitlyn shrugs and smiles. “And they did.”

Of course Kaitlyn would make sure Tessa got fired. She never liked her very much in the first place, and Scott knows their first meeting didn’t go well at all.

“Hey!” A camera man walks over to Scott. “Remember, you’re supposed to be madly in love with her.”

Scott wants to scream.

“Alright, alright!” Patch announces once everyone’s on the soundstage. “Scott and Kaitlyn, take your places. Patrick, play some relaxing music. Let’s start this picture.”

Patrick starts to play, his fingers gliding over the keys as the soft sounds of the piano fill the room. Scott takes his place, slightly off the set, and Kaitlyn sits down on her bench again. Behind her is an arch and a small wall that Patch and JF had instructed Scott to jump over once the camera was on.

“We’re rolling,” A camera man says, and Patch signals Scott to go.

Scott takes a deep breath, trying not to let the itchy fabric of this ridiculous outfit bother him, and confidently walks out onto the set. He spots Kaitlyn, and jumps over the small three-foot wall separating them. Scott covers her eyes with his hands, and Kaitlyn gasps in surprise. Patch motions for Scott to speak, even though no sounds will come out of his mouth on film.

There’s one thing Scott likes about filming silent pictures: the words. It sounds silly, but he loves it. The audience can never lip read fast enough to actually catch on to what the actors are saying before the subtitles appear on a black background on screen, so Scott can say whatever he wants. Thankfully, Kaitlyn does this too, so the conversations they have while filming are often pretty entertaining, and Scott decides that today’s will be no different.

“I can’t believe you got the poor girl fired, you snake! How could you?” Scott hisses, all while smiling and pretending to profess his love for Kaitlyn’s character. She smiles back, but it’s obviously fake, and Scott almost cringes. Kaitlyn’s eyes shoot daggers at him, and he know’s what’s coming.

“Oh, come on, Scotty,” Kaitlyn croons, laying a hand on her chest and batting her eyelashes. She fans herself with a fan. “You know that’s not all I’m gonna do if I get my hands on her.”

Scott grimaces at the use of “Scotty”, but continues. “That’s so low, what did you do it for?” He was determined to get to the bottom of this.

“Because you liked her, I could tell.” Kaitlyn said, hitting him with her fan.

Scott frowns. “So that’s it.” He whispers, taking Kaitlyn’s hand. “Well, I don’t like her half as much as I hate you.”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but-“ Kaitlyn recites the rhyme, her voice like nails on a chalkboard to Scott, but before she can continue, he interrupts her.

“Yeah, and I want to break every bone in your body.” He mumbles as Patch encourages him to kiss her.

“Come on, Scott! Kiss her!” Patch says.

Scott glances at the older man, raising his eyebrows. Patch points at Kaitlyn. “Kiss her!” He repeats.

So he does.

And he hates every second of it, but hey, Scott’s an actor. And a good one too, no matter what a random chorus girl says.

“Cut!” Yells JF Ménard. “Perfect.” He claps his hands together, and Patch nods in agreement. Scott gets up from the bench, and Kaitlyn does too.  
  
“Scotty,” Kaitlyn calls, and Scott tries not to cringe at the use of the nickname he hates the most. “You can’t kiss me like that and not mean it just a little bit.” She says.

Scott almost rolls his eyes. “I’m the world’s greatest actor, Kaitlyn. I’d rather kiss a tarantula.”

“Oh come on, you don’t mean that!” Kaitlyn pouts.

“Um, yes I do.” Scott says. He looks around, and Kaitlyn is still staring at him, her hands on her hips. “Can somebody bring me a tarantula?” He yells to nobody in particular.

“Ok, you lovebirds, break it up! We have lots of work to do.” Patch announces loudly, patting Scott on the shoulder and almost making him jump out of his skin.

“Oh my god, where did you come from?” Scott yelps.

“Sorry,” Patch says, softer this time. “Anyway, I should have both of you know that filming is done for today.”

“What?” Kaitlyn shrieks, her huge wig bobbing as she quickly turns to Patch. “Why?”

“Well, it seems that _The Jazz Singer_ is a bigger hit than anyone thought it would be.” Patch explains. “Other companies are already setting up sound equipment in their lots, and we need to do the same thing, and fast. We want this picture to be a hit too, and the best way to do that is by incorporating sound.”

Scott is stunned. He didn’t think _The Jazz Singer_ would be this huge. This is bad news for him and Kaitlyn, especially Kaitlyn, because they need to learn how to transition to talking pictures very quickly.

“So, we have to start learning how to film with sound?” Scott asks, trying to wrap his mind around the news. Kaitlyn looks absolutely lost.

“Yes, exactly.” Patch nods. “Talking pictures are all the rage now, Scott. Just think of what we at Monumental Pictures could do! The possibilities are endless!”

And the possibilities really _are_ endless, and not just for big names like Scott and Kaitlyn, but for chorus girls like Tessa too. Scott’s heard from Patrick that Monumental Pictures has hired a new group of girls to sing and act.

“You should check it out! I’ll be playing piano for the filming, so just drop by anytime and come watch. It’ll be interesting,” Patrick tells him one day, about a week after Monumental Pictures officially made the switch to talking pictures, and so Scott decides to take his advice.

On the day of the filming, Scott’s running late. Kaitlyn made him rehearse their lines with her, and after hearing her struggle to pronounce “can’t”, Scott suggested hiring a diction coach.

In the back of his mind, he wishes Kaitlyn could somehow have a better voice. If The Dueling Cavalier is released with sound, how will people react to her voice? It would be terribly squeaky and nothing like the voice her fans and the media think she has. Her voice might even ruin their careers, if the talking picture itself doesn’t. Scott really, really needs to talk to Patch about this – Kaitlyn’s voice might be putting both their careers on the line. If only Kaitlyn had the voice of an angel, then maybe Scott would like her more.

But nobody has the voice of an angel! Scott tells himself as he races though the halls to get to the recording studio in time. Nobody could sing or talk that beautifully, it would be almost impossible! And even if they did, they would be much, much more famous than him or Kaitlyn. The person with the voice of an angel would be at Warner Bros., already signing a ten year contract or something like that. Scott shook his head. Kaitlyn doesn’t have the voice of an angel, and nobody here at Monumental Pictures does either, so –

The sound of music flowing from a room up ahead stops him and his train of thought in his tracks. That must be Patrick and the new girls. Scott can hear the piano playing and a voice singing. He recognizes the tune as You Are My Lucky Star.

But it’s only a single voice. Didn’t Patrick say there were multiple girls, and not just one?

He quietly opens the door, and slips inside. Patrick is there, and so are JF and Patch, and someone who Scott can’t see is singing. Patch sees him and mouths “Stop!”, and Scott stops.

It’s a good thing he did, because Scott is absolutely sure that he is listening to an angel, and he doesn’t know if he’s dreaming or not. Whoever this girl is, she must be a star. So famous that JF and Patch asked to listen to her in private. Scott’s starstruck.

Why didn’t Patrick tell him? Maybe it was a secret, or he didn’t know about it until today. Scott’s not sure.

“You are my lucky star!” The voice finishes, and JF and Patch clap.

Scott claps too, just as Patch says, “That was wonderful, Ms. Virtue.”

Wait, what?

He must have said that out loud, because four heads turn his way.

“Scott?”

It’s Tessa.

“Um, hi.” Scott says awkwardly. He clears his throat and turns to Patch. “Patch, this is Tessa Virtue, she was one of the girls at your party and –“

“I know!” Patch says enthusiastically. “She’s got a beautiful voice, and I was going to offer her a featured role in our next picture.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Scott sees Tessa gasp.

“That would be perfect, Mr. Lauzon,” Tessa says. “But… I’m afraid I can’t.”

“What?” Scott and Patch ask, confused. “Why not?”

“Um, well,” Tessa sighs. “Mr. Lauzon, I was the girl at the party who threw the cake at Ms. Weaver.” She confesses, not looking anyone in the eye.

“Oh.” Patch pauses. “That certainly changes things.”

“No, it’s ok!” Tessa says quickly. “I-if you don’t want me, that’s fine. I’ll just get off this lot right now.” She turns, but Scott stops her, grabbing her shoulders.

“What are you talking about?” He says. “Patch, you said she has a beautiful voice, right?” He asks the older man.

“Yes, I did.” Patch nods.

“And you hire beautiful voices, correct?” Scott asks, raising his eyebrows.

“I do.” Patch nods again. “So, Tessa, you’re hired.”

“Seriously?” Tessa squeals, jumping up and down before composing herself. “I mean, uh, thank you so much, Mr. Lauzon.” She clears her throat.

“It’s my pleasure.” He smiles, walking out of the room.

Well, that’s settled. Tessa works for Monumental Pictures now, and finally, after lots of searching, Scott has finally found her again. Of course, she’s in the last place he expects her to be, but Scott doesn’t care.

He’s pretty happy right now.


End file.
